Orange County’s median home
price as of March 2017 was $665,000, an increase
of $20,000 compared to February 2017, and
an increase of $40,000 compared to March 2016
home prices. The housing market, especially
in Orange County, is being watched closely
considering the large fluctuations recently
experienced in home prices as well as due
to both domestic and international economic
concerns. While the housing market continues
to display strength, a rise in interest rates
from the Fed, continued struggles by younger
generations to accumulate their savings and
preponderance for younger generations to favor
rentals could negatively impact the housing
market throughout 2017.

The Orange County average rental
rate in June 2016 decreased slightly to $2,001
– a decrease of $2 compared to the previous
month yet an increase of $152 compared to
the previous year. On a per-city basis, Orange
and Anaheim had the highest year-over-year
growth ($522 each) while Santa Ana large declines
of $567 year-over-year. On a month-to-month
basis, the average apartment rent in Orange
experienced the largest increase, growing
by $268 followed by Huntington Beach which
increased by $38. The largest month-over-month
decrease came from Fullerton and Anaheim which
decreased by $114 and $99, respectively.

Orange County Building permit
activity in October 2014 hit landmark highs
with 1,892 permits granted during the month.
2016 is experiencing seasonal highs in building
permit activity registering 10,377 permits
for the year. In April 2017, a total of 790
building permits were issued representing
a decrease of 543 permits month-over-month
and a decrease of 728 buildings permits year-over-year.
In April 2017, Anaheim and Irvine provided
the highest amount of new permits recorded
during the month at 245 and 229, respectively.

This indicator shows the average apartment rent for major Orange
County cities and for the county average as a whole. The county
average as a whole is not the average of the seven cities shown
in this chart but for all the cities in Orange County.